NDHS principal searching for answers to graduation problems

Published: Monday, June 17, 2013 at 5:56 p.m.

Last Modified: Monday, June 17, 2013 at 5:56 p.m.

WELCOME | Why guests were kept out of North Davidson High School's commencement exercise Saturday at St. Peter's Church and World Outreach Center in Winston-Salem remains unknown, even for school officials.

Principal Emily Lipe spoke on the church's seating capacity, traffic and possible misunderstandings after investigating what may have happened. Lipe emphasized that she did not know there were any problems until after the ceremony.

During the past three days, Lipe has been talking with several parents, community members and advisory council members to determine what happened. She also posted an apology on the school's website and sent home automated messages to parents inviting them to call or email her in order for her to speak to them individually.

Lipe said her purpose was to apologize and express her sincere regret. She also wanted to gather input from guests to find out where the communication broke down. She also spoke with church officials, who she said have been incredible to work with while trying to find a resolution.

"The main thing is I cannot express how sorry we are that this very unfortunate situation took place," Lipe said. "We have staff that worked hard for hours to make graduation a memorable event. I can't erase the frustration. There's nothing I can offer at this point that can replace family members who weren't able to attend graduation."

In May, a letter was sent home to senior parents, Lipe said, informing them that traffic would be congested and graduates needed to arrive by 8 a.m., which was the time the doors would open. That same letter suggested guests might want to carpool because of parking and leave early because of traffic. Lipe also said the letter told parents that the sanctuary doors would close at 9 a.m. when the ceremony started. She mentioned that church staff directed parking, served as ushers and also provided security for the event.

Lipe said according to the church's website the sanctuary holds 3,200 people. She said that each of the graduates participating in the ceremony was given eight tickets the day before at graduation practice — a total of 3,141 seats if you count the graduates.

Lipe said 75 teachers from the school sat on the stage, and chorus students sat in the orchestra pit. She also mentioned that the junior marshals sat in folded chairs and did not take up any of the sanctuary seats either. She said there were no more than 32 tickets given out to advisory council members and their spouses, U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-5th, and a person from her office, and to the parents of junior marshals.

Lipe said they had about 100 tickets left over that were at the school because they were not needed. She noted they pay extra to have the tickets numbered to avoid people attempting to make duplicates.

"Based on all of the information given we were 100 percent in compliance with seating," she said. "Do I think we were overcapacity with tickets? No we were not."

Lipe said that there was a snarl in the traffic flow because of an accident on the northbound lane of U.S. Highway 52 that morning. She said most of the guests had to travel that way to reach the venue on Old Lexington Road.

She said the Winston-Salem fire marshal showed up around 8:50 a.m. Lipe said she never spoke with him on the day of the ceremony. She believes that maybe he was alerted by emergency personnel who were responding to the accident and saw the large crowd of people.

Lipe said after speaking with school employees and volunteers, who were receiving tickets, and representatives from the church, she was told the fire marshal asked how many people were inside. Due to the ticket handlers not counting guests as they entered, the fire marshal asked them to physically count the tickets they had received so far, Lipe said. After speaking with the fire marshal Monday afternoon, Lipe said he confirmed they were in compliance with the seating capacity. At that time, about 2,740 people were inside, including the graduates.

Lipe said her staff did communicate to the guests outside of the venue they needed time to count the tickets and had to stop letting people in to do that. Also, Lipe said the school's graduation coordinators asked if they could delay the start of graduation because of the traffic. Graduation started around 9:15 to 9:20 a.m., Lipe said. She noted at that time it was announced that the doors to the sanctuary would be closed.

Somewhere in between the fire marshal arriving and the start of the ceremony, the doors to the church were locked. Lipe emphasized that at no time did anyone from North Davidson give permission to lock the doors. She's still trying to determine who communicated that.

"I was not informed of any locking of doors or not being allowed in the balcony until the end of the ceremony," she said. "I'm still trying to get an answer. I never communicated locking doors to anyone or anyone on my staff."

She said graduation ended about 10:55 a.m., and at that time she was informed the front doors has been locked for a brief time while the tickets were being counted and the fire marshal was there. Lipe said she heard once the fire marshal was satisfied with the capacity, guests were able to enter the lobby to watch the ceremony on large-screen televisions because at that time the sanctuary doors had been shut for the ceremony. She said no graduates had walked across the stage at that time.

From hearing from employees and parents, Lipe said she was told 90 to 140 people were in the lobby. She heard that guests could see open seats in the sanctuary from the windows in the doors. Lipe said she assumed people were trying to reserve seats in some cases, therefore there were open seats.

Graduate John Garduno had a couple of family members who were unable to get into the sanctuary. He said there was a graduate behind him crying because family could not get in. He noted a lot of the graduates were receiving text messages from family members saying they were not allowed in the venue.

Garduno saw a couple of open seats in the audience. He said you could see parents looking in from the lobby on the outside.

"It was upsetting just to see some people cry," he said.

Parent Dawn McGovern did not have any issues at the ceremony. This was her third time attending graduation at the venue after having two other children graduate from NDHS in 2007 and 2009

She was at the venue at 7:45 a.m. She said all of her guests did not sit together, because the attendees were not able to reserve seats, however everyone did get in.

McGovern said she heard several people tried to attend the ceremony without tickets. She also noted that the officials working the door were very strict about not letting people in without tickets.

The graduation had been held at the venue in the past with no problems. Last year, the graduation was held at BB&T Ballpark where the Winston-Salem Dash play because the church was undergoing renovations.

Lipe said the school improvement team and other community members all expressed positive experiences from the church. She said everybody loved it there.

"I have gathered numerous positive comments about the ceremony. The goal is to honor the graduates. We've done everything in our power to get that accomplished," she said. "If (parents/grandparents) missed one minute of (graduation), it was one minute too long. Every parent deserves to see their child graduate. If I had been aware of the situation, I could have made an announcement to get immediate family members inside. I cannot express how sorry we are."

Deneesha Edwards can be reached at 249-3981, ext. 213, or at deneesha.edwards@the-dispatch.com.

<p>WELCOME | Why guests were kept out of North Davidson High School's commencement exercise Saturday at St. Peter's Church and World Outreach Center in Winston-Salem remains unknown, even for school officials.</p><p>Principal Emily Lipe spoke on the church's seating capacity, traffic and possible misunderstandings after investigating what may have happened. Lipe emphasized that she did not know there were any problems until after the ceremony.</p><p>During the past three days, Lipe has been talking with several parents, community members and advisory council members to determine what happened. She also posted an apology on the school's website and sent home automated messages to parents inviting them to call or email her in order for her to speak to them individually. </p><p>Lipe said her purpose was to apologize and express her sincere regret. She also wanted to gather input from guests to find out where the communication broke down. She also spoke with church officials, who she said have been incredible to work with while trying to find a resolution.</p><p>"The main thing is I cannot express how sorry we are that this very unfortunate situation took place," Lipe said. "We have staff that worked hard for hours to make graduation a memorable event. I can't erase the frustration. There's nothing I can offer at this point that can replace family members who weren't able to attend graduation."</p><p>In May, a letter was sent home to senior parents, Lipe said, informing them that traffic would be congested and graduates needed to arrive by 8 a.m., which was the time the doors would open. That same letter suggested guests might want to carpool because of parking and leave early because of traffic. Lipe also said the letter told parents that the sanctuary doors would close at 9 a.m. when the ceremony started. She mentioned that church staff directed parking, served as ushers and also provided security for the event.</p><p>Lipe said according to the church's website the sanctuary holds 3,200 people. She said that each of the graduates participating in the ceremony was given eight tickets the day before at graduation practice — a total of 3,141 seats if you count the graduates.</p><p>Lipe said 75 teachers from the school sat on the stage, and chorus students sat in the orchestra pit. She also mentioned that the junior marshals sat in folded chairs and did not take up any of the sanctuary seats either. She said there were no more than 32 tickets given out to advisory council members and their spouses, U.S. Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-5th, and a person from her office, and to the parents of junior marshals. </p><p>Lipe said they had about 100 tickets left over that were at the school because they were not needed. She noted they pay extra to have the tickets numbered to avoid people attempting to make duplicates.</p><p>"Based on all of the information given we were 100 percent in compliance with seating," she said. "Do I think we were overcapacity with tickets? No we were not."</p><p>Lipe said that there was a snarl in the traffic flow because of an accident on the northbound lane of U.S. Highway 52 that morning. She said most of the guests had to travel that way to reach the venue on Old Lexington Road.</p><p>She said the Winston-Salem fire marshal showed up around 8:50 a.m. Lipe said she never spoke with him on the day of the ceremony. She believes that maybe he was alerted by emergency personnel who were responding to the accident and saw the large crowd of people. </p><p>Lipe said after speaking with school employees and volunteers, who were receiving tickets, and representatives from the church, she was told the fire marshal asked how many people were inside. Due to the ticket handlers not counting guests as they entered, the fire marshal asked them to physically count the tickets they had received so far, Lipe said. After speaking with the fire marshal Monday afternoon, Lipe said he confirmed they were in compliance with the seating capacity. At that time, about 2,740 people were inside, including the graduates.</p><p>Lipe said her staff did communicate to the guests outside of the venue they needed time to count the tickets and had to stop letting people in to do that. Also, Lipe said the school's graduation coordinators asked if they could delay the start of graduation because of the traffic. Graduation started around 9:15 to 9:20 a.m., Lipe said. She noted at that time it was announced that the doors to the sanctuary would be closed. </p><p>Somewhere in between the fire marshal arriving and the start of the ceremony, the doors to the church were locked. Lipe emphasized that at no time did anyone from North Davidson give permission to lock the doors. She's still trying to determine who communicated that.</p><p>"I was not informed of any locking of doors or not being allowed in the balcony until the end of the ceremony," she said. "I'm still trying to get an answer. I never communicated locking doors to anyone or anyone on my staff."</p><p>She said graduation ended about 10:55 a.m., and at that time she was informed the front doors has been locked for a brief time while the tickets were being counted and the fire marshal was there. Lipe said she heard once the fire marshal was satisfied with the capacity, guests were able to enter the lobby to watch the ceremony on large-screen televisions because at that time the sanctuary doors had been shut for the ceremony. She said no graduates had walked across the stage at that time.</p><p>From hearing from employees and parents, Lipe said she was told 90 to 140 people were in the lobby. She heard that guests could see open seats in the sanctuary from the windows in the doors. Lipe said she assumed people were trying to reserve seats in some cases, therefore there were open seats. </p><p>Graduate John Garduno had a couple of family members who were unable to get into the sanctuary. He said there was a graduate behind him crying because family could not get in. He noted a lot of the graduates were receiving text messages from family members saying they were not allowed in the venue. </p><p>Garduno saw a couple of open seats in the audience. He said you could see parents looking in from the lobby on the outside.</p><p>"It was upsetting just to see some people cry," he said. </p><p>Parent Dawn McGovern did not have any issues at the ceremony. This was her third time attending graduation at the venue after having two other children graduate from NDHS in 2007 and 2009</p><p>She was at the venue at 7:45 a.m. She said all of her guests did not sit together, because the attendees were not able to reserve seats, however everyone did get in.</p><p>McGovern said she heard several people tried to attend the ceremony without tickets. She also noted that the officials working the door were very strict about not letting people in without tickets.</p><p>The graduation had been held at the venue in the past with no problems. Last year, the graduation was held at BB&T Ballpark where the Winston-Salem Dash play because the church was undergoing renovations. </p><p>Lipe said the school improvement team and other community members all expressed positive experiences from the church. She said everybody loved it there.</p><p>"I have gathered numerous positive comments about the ceremony. The goal is to honor the graduates. We've done everything in our power to get that accomplished," she said. "If (parents/grandparents) missed one minute of (graduation), it was one minute too long. Every parent deserves to see their child graduate. If I had been aware of the situation, I could have made an announcement to get immediate family members inside. I cannot express how sorry we are."</p><p>Deneesha Edwards can be reached at 249-3981, ext. 213, or at deneesha.edwards@the-dispatch.com.</p>